It was raining...

...a lot. Would have been nice to think of it as "melted snow," until the power outage on the 26th, lasting 10 hours for some, still out for others. Allegedly caused by a lightning strike at one of the power plants, but that is conjecture at this time. The circuits breakers popped like they are supposed to, protecting the system from further potential damage, saving us customers time and money.

All kinds of "suggestions" from people. I would hazard to guess that, when the price tag is presented for possible solutions (and it will cost), the answer will be "ne'mind." ("never mind", as in "that's okay").

I think that, for the most part, the residents of this island (O'ahu, Hawaii) handled the situation pretty well. There will always be the "10%"; idiots will always be idiots.

At least it doesn't snow here...

Twas' the day after Christmas..

...and not a creature was stirring at work. Dammit!

Skeleton-crew, minus half the bones. Just me left.

Oh, well.

Happy Holidays!

Mele Kalikimaka, Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

Too funny!

Was looking at Steven Shankland's CNET post of a D3x parody:


Rather humorous, unless you're Nikon. But maybe they deserve it for delivering a product that is late, over-priced (to the consumer), and not cutting-edge. I am definitely not in the market for this one.

Good luck, Nikon! Maybe it will benefit by driving down the prices of the rest of the line.

A nod to the season...

It's the holidays!

Kinda lost my appetite for it, though; rather high-stress time for me, and nothing to do with shopping.
On top of that, I figure that a season named after a religious figure should not be so blatantly commercialized. Something not right there. For those that do the remembering what it is about, kudos to you.

Seeing the Light! Okay, maybe just a glimmer...

Received and viewed the new Nikon School "A Hands-On Guide to Creative Lighting" DVD. Sat through the whole thing, one pass.

It went through the basics of lighting, some demos, and the field work with Joe McNally. What really got me was 1) how they talked through everything they were doing, even if it went over my head, and 2) that Joe McNally was shooting in Matrix Metering (when he's not blacking out ambient) and multi-light iTTL. And all that grip equipment (the panels and C-stand kits were cool!)!

I really need to rethink lighting... Yes, the Strobist method (manual, off-camera) is really good for static situations when I know what I am doing, but this may take most of the brain-work out of shooting. Mind you, it still requires someone that knows how all the stuff works and goes together to build that great shot, but the automatics take a level of complexity out.

Already December!

Yikes! It's already December! A year older, a year grey-er, don't know about getting wiser.

Rain!

Woo hoo! Definitely needed this! We have been fairly dry for quite awhile; I sure the tourists appreciate it, but the water resources were becoming a concern.

Keep it coming! Um, Just not all at once, please.

Not a bad day...

Actually a pretty nice day. Sky was fairly blue, the wind was fairly breezy.

Supposed to have some weather coming in tomorrow; we need the rain.

Nothing cerebral...

---

I did update the firmware on my flash light night (It sounds sooo weird to say that). The Nikon SB-900 has flash-able firmware, which you do through certain bodies; I did it through the D90. Easy, but a little nerve-racking (first-time jitters and all that).

Starting the Crazy Season...

It's getting into that time of year again...

Somehow, seemed to be able to deal with this a little better in the past. Am I bringing baggage forward, adding to the pile? Am I letting things get to me? Do I care too much? Should I?

One day, I hope I find out.

Marine Corps Birthday 11/10 - Happy Birthday, Marines!

From a former Marine, "Semper Fi!" Marines, past and present. Be safe.

Vote!

Vote; it is your duty as a citizen, your privilege as an American, and reserves your right to bitch about the system.

No vote, no complaining.

End of Pilot...

It has been determined that our department's participation in the 4/10 experiment shall end on schedule. Have mixed feelings about this.

Not having everyone else on the same schedule caused problems. And, I am so totaled on Friday that half the day is wasted trying to recover (blame that on old age). On the other hand, I supposed my body would have gotten used to the schedule, and having perpetual 3+ day weekends was starting to grow on me.

Maybe one day, if management actually puts all the pieces together...

Brokage Sinkage

Okay, the sink trap was leaking... and this one is an old nightmare. Old wall connections don't like new sink connections; 1.5" > 1.25", and out of alignment. Wrestled with it for a few hours.

My old back hurts...

Ah, been negligent...

Wow, time flies when you're not having fun. Well, it hasn't been all bad, I guess;
- Politics: who to believe?
- Economy: when do I hit the panic button (not now!)
- Job: tied to #1 and #2
- Dell XPS notebook decided it didn't want to work anymore. After a (fairly) pleasant e-chat with tech support, they will send someone out to replace the LCD and motherboard. Guessing it is related to video, but don't know which end. No VGA out, so guessing the motherboard.
- An outing with the Flickr! folk. That was a nice half-day. Learned a lot.

Slow day...

Sun was out, light breeze, polling places were open... yes, it is the Primaries in the State of Hawaii. Other than the Mayor's race, not much happening.

Vote; reserve your right to bitch!

Flickr Lunch for Sept 08

Went to the Hawaii Flickr Meetup Lunch. Nice to see faces attached to aliases, and catch up with what's happening in the real world.

Woke up with a headache and couldn't shake it, but seeing them faces again was worth it. Had to pass on the walkabout; didn't want to risk an accident.

Rain started around 4; headache stopped. Think there's a connection? :(

cold and fuzzy...

Hoping to get into some sort of rhythm at work in a futile attempt to be "productive."

It was a nice weekend...

Got very little done. Cooked a lot, which was nice.

Greetings!

Was greeted by this in the A.M.:

Hoping it would be good/not bad day. It was... not bad. I'll take it.

Happy Labor Day (U.S.), all!

New month! Maybe a new beginning. Hopefully.

Trying to document some stuff that has been lying around for decades.



This set of cups has been in the family for generations; only now have I realized how special they are. Ectched Etched glass, each one different.

Need to dig around and see what else I missed that is so obvious...

End of Week 4

(Hey, missed a week!) Still trying to get into the 4-day work week schedule (4 days, 10 hours). Just getting the extra hour of sleep on Friday does wonders to help the recovery; been pretty toasted the last few weekends!

Going into a "4-day weekend" means I can actually get into some long-deferred projects...

Feel like crap

Spent yesterday trying to catch-up on sleep; didn't work. Started packing gear for the Tuesday event at work.

Work up early this morning to deal with some off-cycle stuff at work; sleep cycle totaled again.

Hope I can do something tomorrow...

Getting back into gear, part deux

Wow, spent the last few days trying to wrap my head around what has been happening at Drupal since I last really was in it.

I knew about DrupalCon (Szeged), I knew that View2 was in RC for v6. I thought Panels2 was ready for v6 (can't find it), and I was hoping someone would port some other stuff I have been using.

Mostly, I am realizing that whatever I have built in v5 will probably stay there, and any new stuff will come up in v6. With v7 already on the horizon (early '09), have to hurry.

Did dump my local WAMP/Drupal install and refreshed the build, so my foundation is up to speed. Looks very similar, though some of the verbage has changed (for the better). Have to try themes in v6; the method for altering and importing CSS supposed to have changed; something about a "theme registry."

Back to it...

Getting back in gear

Been far too distracted with photo stuff; need to get back into my day-job stuff. Like "paying my dues" for use of open-source projects. Especially Drupal.

Drupal is a wonderful thing, but it does require knowledge maintenance. Very fast moving; not for those that like a sedate pace. Definitely not for those that complain about wanting new features, but not wanting to put in the "sweat equity."

Put in time for about a year, participating in the discussion forums, and occasionally in the issues queues, but as I said, I got distracted. Gotta get back.

Week 2

Have to get back in the saddle for Week 2 of the "grand experimental" 4-day work week.

Coming out of Week 1, some thoughts;
- It is like changing shifts; getting into it is hard.
- For those with families, this may be hard. For single-parents, this is going to be brutal.
- Since this is a short-term thing (3 months), I don't think management will realize all the issues they might run into if it becomes a long-term/semi-permanent thing.
- Having Fridays off is kinda nice.
- Having Fridays off is just another day for weekend chores.
- Will probably burn even more fuel than in a 5-day work week. We're not parked all day!

*sigh*

Regressing...

Going through some old photos, and came across this one that caused a minor childhood flashback moment.

Remember "Little Toot"?

The Last Work Friday

The workplace has determined that they are going to "experiment" with the 4-day work week. 4 days, 10 hours, Friday off. Strange arrangements to accommodate holidays (big arguments there!).

We shall see how it goes; from the viewpoint an IT support professional, I see problems. There is an assumption by users that services will be available at all times...

It's harrowing to be a rider...

Okay, first time in a long time, rode backseat while the parents drove (their new vehicle). Yikes! White-knuckle, for opposite reasons.

Don't recall it being like that before. Then again, the world used to be larger, too.

Sea of Holes...

A flashback moment...

Microsoft, Patch Tuesday, Windows Vista, Freaking out

It's "Patch Tuesday" again; ho-hum... Do the "dumb-user" thing and accept the default updates to the Windows Vista installation.

Restart; OH NO! Get this black screen with Registry stuff in it! Drive light is going balls-to-the-walls... what do I do?

Think about it; Microsoft wouldn't put a patch out that would break your machine, now would they (doh!)? Assume that this is a part of the process and let it finish...

Whew! Another restart, see the "Part 3 of 3; do not turn off your computer" notice (why didn't that put that in the other screen?), and we're back!

Again, like the Dell thing, did they assume that people would know not to touch the power button, like if Windows "hung?" C'mon, folks! You're supposed to be smarter than us and anticipate that stuff!

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS "Hardy Heron"

Been thinking about doing this for awhile; installing Ubuntu 8.04 LTS aka "Hardy Heron."

Stepping through this for my own information, especially considering the time it has already been out. The "bleeding-edge" folks are already well into this, and the conservatives may not even be looking.

To begin:
1. Downloaded an ISO from the Ubuntu site; burned the CD (standard stuff).

2. Fetched a notebook that had "Gutsy Gibbon" installed on it; not using it, so it is a good testbed.

3. Insert CD into drive, check to be sure that it will boot

4. The trials begin... checking the system


5. Starting up...


6. First appearance of the "Hardy Heron;" ain't it a purty-birdy?


7. Setting primary language


8. Setting system time; didn't have Honolulu on the list, so I had to hunt for and click on a dot in the middle of the Pacific. Have any idea how painful that can be with my old eyes?


9. Setting base keyboard input...


10. Selecting the installation partition; I chose to blow away my existing install...


11. Machine and user info collection...


12. There is a "Ready to Install" screen here, but it has some info I do not wish to reveal (sorry!)...

13. Partition going in; no turning back now!


14. The build continues...


15. Building done; Restart!


16. OMG! What the hell is this? Cold-start...


17. Ah! There it is!


18. Initial updates...


19. Done!

Tried to install ClamAV for Debian; not simple. Not that I would get anything myself, but I am a firm believer in "not being a part of the problem" by not being a "Typhoid Mary" type and relaying problems to those that are susceptible.

Now, if only Firefox 3.0 on Ubuntu had better colorspace management...

Dell is SO helpful (NOT!)

For those that have a Dell system, you probably know about the Dell Support Center. Gives you "helpful" hints, system alerts, etc.

Got a notice that there was an "Urgent" upgrade for the hard drive firmware (the hard drives local operating system). This is for my system drive; gut-check. Okay, we've done this before; download the right file, unpack it, read the instructions, install. Easy, right? Uh huh. Download the file, unpack it. No instructions. Check the site; it says to read the instructions contained in the download. Hmmm.

I am supposed to be a "knowledgeable" IT guy; I can do this! Don't need no stinkin' instructions! Plus, I'm a guy, so.... Create the CD from ISO, boot from the CD, it runs, and... OMG! "No recognizable boot device"!!! I can't start my system! Think, think, think! Try it again! Run the executable manually this time...

Hey, maybe if I shutdown and do a "cold-boot"... Voila! I have my system drive back!

I'm getting too old for this... What do the non-technical users do? I am thinking that it would be a bad time to call Dell about now; didn't want to talk to India anyway.

[edit: I should note that the fact they sent a notification out at all is helpful. They need to work on the execution, though, especially when it affects something that can permanently disable your system.]

Happy 4th, America!

Remember why you are here... and don't forget those that fight to keep things that way.

Happy Debt-Reduction Day!

aka "Pay-day" (for me)!

Considering the state of things, I guess this is good.

The Nikon D700 has been announced! The...

Okay, breathe.

Actually, already have the D300, so I can wait.

But "wide" is nice!

Don't do posters, rarely print, so megapixels don't count. Much. Okay, maybe for the occasional crop.

But "wide" is good!

To make it right, I would have to get the body, plus at least one lens on the ultra-wide end, say, the 14-24mm f2.8... That would put me out around $5K. Ouch.

But "wide" is sooo good!

And the SB-900... $500!!!

*sigh*

Drifting thoughts; Yahoo!, Flickr, futures

Watching the Microsoft-Yahoo! drama, and the arrival of Carl Icahn...

As a Flickr user, I was concerned about what Yahoo! would do to it. Other than authentication, not much on the surface. I can only imagine that there was help on the backend, a good thing in anyone's book.

As a Drupal user, companies like Yahoo! (and Google) are a huge influence in continuing the F/LOSS movement. Much appreciated.

When the Microsoft acquisition attempts started, I felt personally threatened, both to the impact on open-source, and to Flickr. We may never know what really would have happened.

Carl Icahn is a real threat to any company, IMO. He does not come across as someone that has a passion for a product; he just wants his money, no matter what it does to the company he is involved in. I fear him. and his kind.

Obligatory "Hello World!"

Hi!

Sorry, I'm not open for "business" yet, and I have yet to determine if I really should be doing this. Only time will tell.